6 Communication Tips for Recruiting Millennials to Oil and Gas

6 COMMUNICATION TIPS FOR RECRUITING MILLENNIALS TO OIL AND GAS By Barb Adams In a recent editorial entitled  Whither the Gold Watch?, a pipeline services company executive lamented the tendency of millennials — those 20- and 30-somethings expected to represent 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025   Ã¢â‚¬â€ to â€Å"job hop† rather than put in long, loyal careers with a single firm. But the capricious nature of millennials is just one aspect of the perfect talent-management storm facing oil and gas companies. As the result of an aging workforce retiring in droves and fewer students preparing for energy industry careers, the mismatch between the number of job openings and the pool of candidates prepared to fill them is staggering. In fact, it’s estimated that there will be half a million openings in the oil and gas industry over the next five years. www.shape.com What’s a beleaguered hiring manager to do? Many energy companies are pulling out all the stops — remunerative and otherwise — to keep those flighty millennials, the presumptive next generation of industry leaders, engaged and in place. And with talent poaching rampant, retention is easily a full-time effort. But retention is just one part of the equation. The first step, of course, is recruiting millennials. And to do that successfully, you have to know how to communicate with them. Understanding Millennials Can Help You Craft Content Not since the cave paintings at Lascaux has a generation been so inclined to use representations to express ideas as millennials are. Emojis, emoticons, endless abbreviations — they’re all part of the lexicon of these digital natives. Don’t be inclined to â€Å"go there,† as they say: Unless you want prospective employees to LOL (laugh out loud), there’s no place for â€Å"U will (heart) working here† in your recruitment efforts. Instead, let’s consider what your mobile-friendly website, LinkedIn and Facebook ads, Tweets, YouTube videos, and other recruiting materials should include. (And yes, you should be using each of those avenues to promote your company to potential new hires.) Although there’s no exact template to follow, taking a look at some of the considerable research into millennials’ preferences can help direct your content development. Consider these six guidelines. 1. When Oil and Gas Monitor studied the habits of more than 10,000 millennials, it discovered the group is not as motivated by money as previous generations. Instead, millennials prefer an environment where they can â€Å"develop, demonstrate their talents, and progress through the company.† In addition, millennials value collaboration and teamwork. Your recruiting efforts should describe how employees, working together, could have a positive impact on your organization. 2. Axero Solutions, a social software company, said because this generation was raised on social media and entertainment, millennials respond to stories, anecdotes, and individual narrative. That means testimonials by peers who are advancing in your company can be extremely powerful and influential. 3. As Rigzone has noted, the tech-heavy oil and gas industry is almost naturally appealing to this wired demographic. Early adopters of technology, millennials equate newer with better. But not only do they love new devices, millennials also seek â€Å"fresh ideas, innovative approaches, and original insights,† according to Axero Solutions. In addition to using technology such as social media and YouTube videos to reach millennials, it’s important to show them the technology they’ll work with in your organization, as well as the kind of innovation your company produces. 4. It’s all right to be playful, said Will Pearson,  co-founder of Mental Floss magazine, speaking at the World Innovation Forum in New York City. Quoted in a report by Entrepreneur magazine, Pearson described millennials’ favorite media as a combination of goofy, earnest, and confident. You can tailor your messages with â€Å"quirk in an authentic voice,†Ã‚  he says. In other words, â€Å"whimsy is acceptable, but be genuine about it.† The serious-to-the-point-of-being-dour language that may have enticed Baby Boomers won’t cut it with millennials. 5. Pearson also said that millennials switch their attention between electronic devices up to 27 times an hour. Given that dizzying pace, is it even possible to catch their attention? According to Lindsey Pollak, the self-proclaimed â€Å"Millennial Workplace Expert,† the answer is, yes. She suggests that organizations present information in digestible bits through social media. Tweets, for example, take only seconds to consume, and retweeting builds your audience exponentially. Millennials also respond well to informational videos and infographics. 6. Millennials want to change the world. They also want to work in a company that supports that goal. In fact, in a Bentley University study, 84 percent of respondents said that â€Å"helping to make a positive difference in the world is more important than professional recognition.† Couple that with the results of a survey by researchers Millennial Branding and hiring site Beyond.com, indicating the main reason millennial workers will stay at a company is if there is a â€Å"good cultural fit,† and it’s clear. That means that recruiting materials should tout your company’s social and environmental activities and describe how they are interwoven with your business values and corporate culture. With retention a continuing issue, some employers have pessimistically referred to the hiring of millennials a very expensive revolving door. But because they represent the future of the oil and gas industry, it’s essential to get the best candidates through that door. Upgrading your recruiting materials so they speak the language of the generation can help.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Summary

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Summary Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Summary NOTE! The following paper is just an example written by one of our staff writers. If you need an original summary of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass feel free to place your order. The following Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Summary analyzes three sections of the book briefly. First Section Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is more of a map that defines the way people can follow when they want to free themselves from slavery. At the beginning, Douglass is a slave as he was born by a slave mother at a plantation known as Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. During his stay at the plantation, Douglass witnesses horrible things such as seeing his own aunt, Hester, being whipped; he does not know his father, he is allowed to be with his own mother for some time and is denied the chance to attend to his mother’s burial (Douglass, 2000). The second phase of the narrative begins as Douglass who is 7 years old at the time is sent to work for new Baltimore masters. In Baltimore, Douglass starts a new life with new experience as the region is like a new world to him. It is in Baltimore when Douglass discovers the benefits, power and significance of education. He is so lucky to receive education under guidance of his master’s wife who volunteers to teach him how to read. Although the master’s wife teaches him how to read, the master is not happy about the incidence and goes ahead to quarrel with his wife. It is at this point that Douglass discovers that slavery exists due to ignorance from fellow slaves. He decides to find ways on how to educate himself to read. As Douglass grows up, he decides to fight for his freedom. It is at this point, that Douglass’s master decides to send him to work for a ruthless master called Convey who is also known as a â€Å"slave breaker† because of his ruthless acts on slaves. At first, Convey manages to destroy Douglass’s spirit to free himself. This continues until his third epiphany where he prefers to die rather than being a slave (Shmoop, 2010). Douglass fights Convey for two hours as he defends himself from being whipped by Convey. Convey decides to leave him alone and never whips Douglass again. The narrative continues as Douglass bounces from one master to another until he manages to make his way to New York as well as Massachusetts. After a while, Douglass achieves his dream of being free and swears to never rest until all forms of slavery are abolished. In his efforts, Douglass manages to write the narrative about his life in order to educate other people on how to find their way out of slavery. Second Section The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass presents very crucial, relevant and even reliable message. The narrative about Douglass’s life proves that slavery actually existed in America. Many people may view the book as anti-slavery propaganda, but in real life, slavery existed as put forth by Douglass. This narrative remains as one of the crucial historical documents, as it unveils how American slaves such as Douglass lived, experienced and even had to go through. The book also talks of how Douglass fights his way to freedom from slavery. Douglass put it forth to all slaves that there is a way out of slavery (Trotman, 2011). Moreover, he enlightens both blacks and whites on the price of ignorance towards education as it makes people slaves to the educated. Additionally, Douglass’s main aim is to enlighten the whites on how easily they can be corrupt through practicing slavery and thus, it is wrong as well as contradictory to Christianity. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass puts it to people that they were created equally and thus, one can decide on how and who he wants to be in future. He moves further to explain that education plays a great role in a person’s transformation and development. Douglass believes that education played a crucial part in his fight for freedom as it enlightened him as well as changed his perspective in life. Ultimately, Douglass unveils how he suffered while under the chains of slavery. On top of that, the book shows that American government at the time of Douglass actually legalized slavery trade. In addition, the American nobles counted a slave as a less valuable item and thus seen as three-fifth of a person. Douglass compares American hero Henry to slaves since both of them are willing and eager to die for their freedom. Third Section Many people admire Douglass’s courage to fight for his freedom. Douglass, being as young as he was at the time, lays his life and strength towards fighting slavery. He moves further to enlighten his fellow slaves on how to free themselves. A lot of people love Douglass’s eagerness and willingness to learn how to read at a very tender age. The Life of Frederick Douglass is an inspirational narrative aimed to change the view of many young people who hate education. The narrative puts it clear that they will ignore education but end up being slaves to others. Many also love the fact that Douglass is willing to put his life at stake in quest to abolish slavery completely. However, many people dislike the fact ancient Americans, especially the whites, mistreat the blacks. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass summary uncovers the fact that even the government has supported slavery for as long as a black man was involved. These actions display racism as well as inhumanity towards the blacks. The whites enslaving the blacks actually display how inferior blacks were viewed during the time. References Douglass, F. (2000). The narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. S.l.: Quiet Vision. Shmoop. (2010). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Shmoop University. Trotman, C. J. (2011). Frederick Douglass a biography. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood.